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Friday Night Lights, Season 3

Week 6: I Would Rather Raise a Kid Like Riggins Than One Like J.D.

Posted Monday, Feb. 23, 2009, at 1:02 PM ET

This is an argument we have in my household all the time and which will come to full boil when our children are teenagers. I would rather raise a kid like Riggins than one like J.D. In my book, parental oppression is a crime, not quite on order with negligence—but still. (My mother calls me like five times a day, just to give you the source.) As I was relishing the awkward teenage sex scene between Matt and Julie, which we've discussed, David (my husband) was having a very overprotective paternal reaction: His view is that Matt slept with Julie to get back at Coach. Coach took away what mattered most to Matt, so Matt got his revenge by doing the same. I think this is crazy dad talk—teens in love don't need any extra motive to have sex, especially not on a sunny day by the lake—but it gives you a window into our differences.

As for Devin, what an excellent point. I hadn't quite noticed that Devin had become Tami in miniature, dispensing wise looks from behind her hipster glasses. Like any city girl, I have a soft spot for these cute misfit girls with a heart of gold (we just watched Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist last night—Norah is one, too). But I do have one complaint. Every few episodes, the show introduces a character who looks like she strolled straight out of a walk-up in Park Slope, Brooklyn (the Riggins' old neighbor, Landry's last girlfriend). I know, I know, Texas is cooler than I think. But can't we aim for a little authenticity?

Week 6: I Would Rather Raise a Kid Like Riggins Than One Like J.D.

Posted Monday, Feb. 23, 2009, at 1:02 PM ET
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Emily Bazelon is a Slate senior editor. Meghan O'Rourke is Slate's culture critic and the author of Halflife, a collection of poetry. Hanna Rosin is the author of God's Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission To Save the Nation and a contributing editor at the Atlantic. She can be reached at . Emily, Hanna, and Meghan are helping Slate launch a new women's Web site this spring, Double X. David Plotz is Slate's editor.
Stills from Friday Night Lights © 2008 NBC Universal Inc. All rights reserved.
Stills in:
Entry 10 and Entry 15 by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 18 by Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Photo.
Entries 22 and 23: Stills of Jesse Plemons as Landry Clarke and Stephanie Hunt as Devin Corrigan by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 31: Still of Minka Kelly as Lyla Garrity by Mitchell Haaseth.
Entry 32: Still of Taylor Kitsch as Tim Riggins and Scott Porter as Jason Street by Virginia Sherwood/NBC Photo.
Entry 33: Still of Adrianne Palicki as Tyra Collette and Zach Roerig as Cash by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 36: Derek Phillips as Billy Riggins by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 37: Kim Dickens as Shelby Saracen by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 38: Adrianne Palicki as Tyra Collette and Zach Roerig as Cash by Bill Records/NBC Photo. Entry 43: Still of Brad Leland as Buddy Garrity and Kyle Chandler as Eric Taylor by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 44: Still of D.W. Moffett as Joe McCoy Sr. by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 45: Still of Jesse Plemons and Tyra Collette by
Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 46: Still of Taylor Kitsch as Tim Riggins and Adrianne Palicki as Tyra Collette by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 48: Still by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 49: Still of Connie Britton as Tami Taylor by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 50: Still of Kyle Chandler as Eric Taylor and Connie Britton as Tami Taylor by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 52: Still from
Friday Night Lights by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
Entry 55: Still from
Friday Night Lights by Bill Records/NBC Photo.
On the Slate home page: Zach Gilford as Matt Saracen by Michael Muller/NBC Photo.
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